Last night was one of those unexpected but blissful evenings that we all have every now and then. I got a call from a friend right before I left work for the day. He had Coldplay tickets and didn't think he would be using them. He always seems to get great tickets through his job. I said "well, I'm not a huge fan, but I'm at least familiar with the music. I'll go if you're not using them".

Wise choice.

First, I've always been kind of apprehensive about Coldplay because I bought into the idea that they were trying to be "the next Radiohead". It was dumb for me to feel that way too, especially since I don't own any of their albums.
The "next Radiohead" they are not, and that's a good thing considering what they appear to be aspiring to.

I was impressed right off the bat with their stage set. It was awesome. They had an extremely wide screen behind them that switched back and forth between digital images and vivid footage of the show in progress. The sound was incredible. Really thick and full.
Their second song, "Politik" got a big reaction, mainly because of Chris Martin's improvising of lyrics about the recent floods down south. Towards the end of the tune, he was sitting at his piano and sang
"Give me the strength, give me the means
To stop the flood in New Orleans"
Columbus ate it up.

Another surpise was the Johnny Cash tribute. They all gathered at the front of the stage and played 'Til Kingdom Come (originally written for Johnny Cash) and Ring of Fire. Ohioans loves them some country, so almost everybody was singing along.
There were two wildly energetic moments towards the end of the show.
"Clocks" sounded really good, and toward the end ofthe song, they started counting down from ten. As they counted down, they starting playing faster and faster. Finally when they reached the end, Chris Martin belted out a sustained "ONE!!!" before the whole band stopped on a dime and walked off the stage. The place erupted. My wife, who had been sitting on her hands the whole time ("this ain't my kinda rock", she said) was now on her feet.
"In My Place" was where the band realized they had already established a connection and went in for the kiss. Martin even went as far as leaving the stage and running up to a spot in the middle of the pavillion, standing on the rails amidst a sea of happy folks with cell phones and digital cameras singing in unison;
Yeah, how long must you wait for it?
Yeah, how long must you pay for it?
I was only twenty feet away, taking in the scene and laughing at security .

Not bad for free show at the last minute.

Glad you enjoyed their show. I haven't seen them live yet, but I hope to one day. They have a great sound and their music is not a bunch of nonesense (like so much out there). They write very good songs with mature, meaningful lyrics. I think they're a great band and their new cd is excellent.

andykeen said:

dude, you must have been at the same gig as me - at crystal palace on the monday night?

supergrass were great, huh? always are tho'. kick-ass band.

TheFrog said:

Yea thats where i was

I never saw U frog, i was rite at the front on the right, just under the big screen, where was u?

Glad you went and saw them.. one of the more talented musicians to spring out of the 00's...


Martin is a blissful songwriter

andykeen said:

right at the front in the middle. well, about 10 rows back.

bloody hot day, eh?

TheFrog said:

Indeed, i was gonna go in jeans, but they ripped, so all i had left was shorts, i feel so embarrassed cus all my friends were in jeans, when we got off the train it was soooo bloody hot, so they all got jealous wooohooo

But how good where morning runner? my friends thought super grass were boring!